Gold medallist Davidson had help from on high

ATHLETICS: After delivering a personal best to win Australia's first track-and-field gold medal in Rio, teenager Brayden Davidson paid tribute to his late grandmother for putting him on the path to the Paralympics.

Davidson, who has cerebral palsy, leapt a Paralympics record of 5.62 metres in the T36 long jump (for athletes with co-ordination impairments), winning on countback after Brazilian Rodrigo Parreira da Silva matched the Australian's distance.

Speaking after his victory, Davidson recalled a crucial turning point when he was six years old and his grandparents saw a newspaper article on two of Australia's Paralympians.

"They were massive supporters of me," the 18-year-old said of his grandmother Moira, who died early last year, and grandfather Bob, who passed away in 2014.

"Later on tonight when all the excitement dies down, I shall just sit by myself and take some time. I will just look up and have a think. Nanna, grandad, I did it.

"My nanna was the one that gave me the dream of even going to the Paralympics.

"She just said 'maybe one day if you keep on going that can be you out there competing for Australia at the Paralympics'."

Competing at his first Paralympics, Davidson admitted to performing beyond his own expectations in a field that included reigning Paralympic champion Roman Pavlyk, who took bronze with a leap of 5.61m.

Both Davidson and da Silva produced their 5.62m efforts first-up - the Aussie beating his previous personal best by 11cm.